Breaking Sales

Has this ever happened to you? You walk into a sales conversation with your product demo ready. You’ve rehearsed your presentation to perfection, knowing every line and figure by heart, only to find your prospect is disengaged and uninterested in your production.

There’s a reason this didn’t work: You made the conversation about yourself. Instead of approaching the prospect with curiosity and asking questions about their business, you relied on a rehearsed demo presentation that didn’t require you to step out of your comfort zone and engage with the prospect on their level. So how do we fix this?

In this snippet, Dan shares why relying on your demo, though tempting, can hurt your ability to connect with your prospects and close the deal. We’ll explore why this leads to missed opportunities and misaligned solutions, and how you can adjust your mindset to better serve your prospect’s needs, not your own need for comfort and security. Listen to this snippet, and if you liked it, scroll back to episode 42, “Disqualifying You Is Easier” to hear the full conversation.

Sales leaders often stress the importance of differentiation. But what if I told you that the conventional wisdom on how to stand out in sales conversations actually makes you sound more like everyone else?

When have you ever heard a competitor of yours say to the prospect, “our resources aren’t that good?” 

Differentiation isn't about having the most offices, the smartest people, or even the best product. True differentiation has to come from within you - how you show up mentally.

In this episode of Breaking Sales, Dan and Kristie dive deep into what it takes to stand out in a crowded marketplace. They’ll challenge the conventional wisdom about differentiation and explore why your mindset matters more than any feature or benefit you can tout. How it’s often your ability and willingness to ask the questions others are afraid to ask. 

When was the last time you actually enjoyed responding to an RFP?

The harsh reality is that buyer expectations are through the roof. The old playbook just doesn't cut it anymore. But what if there was a way to completely flip the script on RFPs? To turn them from a soul-crushing exercise into a chance to truly connect with your prospects?

In this episode, Kristie and Dan dive into the mindset shift that can help you disrupt the RFP game, challenging everything you think you know about the process.

What if instead of a scripted song and dance, you could have a real dialogue? What if you could build trust by being radically honest? And what if setting clear boundaries actually led to more success?

Dan and Kristie break down exactly how to approach RFPs in a whole new way. One that keeps you objective, strategic, and focused on what really matters: helping your prospects make the best decision possible.

If you’re ready to throw out the old RFP rulebook and try something that might just transform your entire sales approach, listen in.

Are you brave enough to ask a prospect if they've tried fixing their problem with their current provider? Or does the risk that you could potentially lose a deal fill you with dread? 

Sales professionals often struggle with getting too attached in these situations, especially when they’re excited about closing a deal. If you want to improve your sales conversations, you have to become very self-aware about this tendency, and remind yourself that your attachments and insecurities aren’t serving anyone’s best interests.

In this Snippet, Dan explores how adopting this mindset can help you build trust with insurance industry leader Danielle Lombardo. You'll learn how to shift your focus from closing at all costs to truly serving and understanding potential clients, focusing on creating long-term trust instead of short-term gains.

If you're ready to challenge what you think you know about sales tactics, listen to this snippet, then scroll back to Episode 3, Breaking the Sales Mindset with Danielle Lombardo, to hear the complete discussion on avoiding these common sales conversation pitfalls.

Have you ever felt a rush of excitement when a prospect says something positive about your sales conversation? That moment when you are sure you have it in the bag?

Not so fast.

In this episode, Dan and Pam explore a dangerous pitfall in sales - the temptation to hear what you want to believe, not what your prospect is actually saying. They’ll dive into why labeling interactions as "good" or "bad" can sabotage your efforts, and how to stay objective even when things feel optimistic. You'll learn why "buying signals" might not mean what you think they do, and how to keep pushing for deeper understanding instead of settling for surface-level positivity. Dan and Pam break down real examples of sales conversations gone wrong, and give you strategies to avoid the same mistakes. Prepare to challenge your assumptions, and learn how to avoid disappointment by listening with more curiosity.

Most salespeople approach rapport-building wrong, and here's why: they rely on superficial small talk that prospects can see right through, they abruptly switch from "rapport mode" to "sales mode," creating a jarring experience, or they assume rapport is only about finding common ground, when it's really about creating a much deeper connection. These mistakes don't just fail to build trust – they actively damage it.

In this snippet, we revisit Dan’s conversation with David Thompson, a master interrogator who shares his expert insights on building rapport. David reveals how to weave rapport throughout your entire conversation, how to be a human first and a salesperson second (and why this distinction matters), and techniques from high-stakes interrogations that can transform your sales approach. Plus, we'll explore the power of strategic questioning and why assuming you understand a prospect's needs is a dangerous game. After listening, scroll back to Episode 18, Questions that Build Trust with David Thompson, to hear our full conversation on dialogue and trust in sales.

What if the key to your success is hidden in the words you probably dread hearing most: "Can I give you some feedback?"

For most people, those six words might cause your defenses to rise and your mind to race. But what if your mindset around feedback is actually a predictor of your future success?

In this episode of Breaking Sales, Dan and Pam challenge the way professionals respond to feedback. We're diving deep into why most people run from criticism, while the top 1% of performers crave it. You'll discover how your instinctive reaction to feedback might be sabotaging your career, why you're probably not as self-aware as you think, and how to transform criticism from a threat into your secret weapon for growth.

If you're ready to embrace discomfort and unlock a new level of performance, this episode is for you. It's time to stop running from feedback and start running towards it.

Think about the most valuable feedback you've ever received, or that question that really helped you solve a problem by thinking both objectively and differently. Was there some level of discomfort at first? Did you have to lower your guard a little bit so you could objectively receive and debate either the feedback or the question? And more importantly, how did the experience impact how you felt about the person giving the feedback or asking the question? 

This experience is called positive tension. It's the art of asking questions and making observations that may be at first uncomfortable for the recipient, but the exchange is invaluable because it helps the other person to think differently about their situation, experience, and or results. If you want your prospect to make a change, the psychology would suggest that they will need to feel and work through positive tension. 

In this episode of Breaking Sales, Dan and Pam dive deep into why creating positive tension is crucial for transformative conversations. You'll learn why your prospects need to feel tension to seriously consider change, techniques for framing tough questions in a way that builds trust, and how to find your authentic voice when discussing sensitive topics. 

If you want to stop spending so much time chasing prospects for answers and you want to sell more, this episode is for you. Let's break down the psychology behind positive tension and how you can use it as a tool to help your prospects gain conviction toward change. 

Are you comfortable asking the tough questions? Or do you find yourself holding back, afraid to rock the boat? That hesitation can be counterintuitive, as the ability to ask challenging questions may be the difference between closing a deal and watching it slip away.  So how do you develop the confidence to push past your comfort zone and take the conversation into uncharted waters?

In this snippet, Quinn Damon and Dan explore the art of asking tough questions, and Quinn shares a pivotal moment in his career where a single, well-crafted question turned the tide in a sales conversation.

If you're ready to learn how to ask the questions that truly matter to your prospect, listen in, and then scroll back to episode 44, “No Shortcuts to Sales Success” to hear our full conversation on mastering the art of tough questions.

What would happen if excuses and insecurities no longer held you back, and you were able to approach your prospecting with calm, confidence, and conviction?

In this episode of Breaking Sales, Dan and Pam talk about how you can evolve your mindset and minimize annoying insecurities that hold you back. They cover conviction and how it can transform your performance, including why waiting for external factors to boost your confidence is a losing game, and how you can get results by manufacturing that "I don't give a sh*t" attitude. 

This conversation might just be the wake-up call you need to break through to your next level of achievement.